1,000 brave cold to attend Easter sunrise service

Monday

Apr 1, 1991 at 12:01 AM

Not even the near-freezing temperatures could keep them away. At dawn yesterday, as on the preceding seven Easters, hundreds of hope-filled residents gathered at the Beacon Drive-in for what has become one of the most cherished Spartanburg traditions, "Sunrise at the Beacon." "Of course, we all come for the same reason, whether you're inside a church or not, but there's something special about being outdoors," said Troy Stokes, one of the dozens of volunteers from Spartanburg's First Baptist Church who helped organize the annual event. Across the world, Easter is an awe- and hope-inspiring day. The message of Jesus's resurrection can be all the more vivid as the rising sun's rays break through the darkness. "It's to see the reality of the sun rising and the rising son," an emotional Patrick Norris said after the services. "This is what it's all about." Yesterday's Easter service included frigid temperatures. The National Weather Service recorded 38 degrees, but the wind chill factor made the outdoor air feel like a brisk 32. At least 1,000 people from all walks of life - black and white, some wearing ties, others wearing jeans - gathered at the Beacon, where they huddled in blankets, sipped steaming coffee in the solitude of their cars, and sang along with the "singing cross" of choir members on a cross-shaped stage. "This is our first," said Ruby McNeely, who drove her family down from Morganton, N.C., for the service. "I just heard about it and wanted to see it. I liked it." The tradition began eight years ago, when First Baptist pastor Dr. Alastair C. Walker mentioned to Beacon owner John White the absence of any major sunrise Easter service in Spartanburg. White, a First Baptist member who also hosts evening church services in Au

gust and a July 4 extravaganza at his restaurant, jumped on the idea. Since the Easter services began, White and his employees have provided free breakfasts - Danish pastries, muffins, biscuits, sausage, juice, coffee and cocoa - to crowds sometimes numbering more than 5,000. Sunrise Easter services have since spread to about 20 Upstate churches. "They know what Easter means," White said of yesterday's crowd at the Beacon service. "All of them receive a blessing." Many of the worshipers said yesterday they planned on attending regular Easter services, too, but they didn't want to miss Sunrise at the Beacon. "It's different," Julia Varner said. "You like to go out and see people and see the sun rise." "You can just sit here looking up. It's a whole new beginning," added Mark Massey. SONRIS.E